Concave Infrared Emitter for Uniform Grill Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional infrared grills often rely on a mix of infrared and convection energy for cooking, which can lead to uneven heating and inefficiencies, as they typically use expensive infrared burners and struggle to achieve a uniform distribution of infrared energy for cooking.
Innovation Solution
A cooking apparatus featuring a concave emitter that absorbs energy nonuniformly from a burner and emits infrared radiation uniformly over a predetermined plane, allowing for efficient cooking with 100% infrared energy without a conventional infrared burner, using a port-type convection burner for heating and optimizing the distance between the emitter and the cooking grid to maintain uniform energy distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional infrared burner is used to provide 100% infrared energy for cooking, then cooking efficiency and energy distribution uniformity are improved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an infrared emitter as an intermediary component between the conventional burner and the food. The emitter absorbs thermal energy from the burner and converts it to infrared radiation, which directly heats the food. This mediator enables the use of simple, inexpensive burners while achieving the cooking efficiency and energy distribution uniformity previously requiring complex infrared burners.
2Manufacturing precision
If a conventional infrared burner is used to achieve uniform infrared energy distribution, then cooking uniformity is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The infrared emitter serves as a mediating surface that redistributes thermal energy from the burner into uniform infrared radiation. The emitter's surface geometry and material properties are designed to ensure uniform energy distribution across the cooking area, achieving manufacturing precision without requiring complex burner systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The emitter acts as a template or copy that reproduces the thermal energy from the burner in a uniform infrared radiation pattern. By designing the emitter surface to match the desired energy distribution pattern, the system achieves uniform cooking results without copying the complexity of traditional infrared burners.
3Ease of manufacture
If a port-type convection burner is used instead of an infrared burner, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but cooking efficiency and energy distribution uniformity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The infrared emitter mediates between the simple port-type convection burner and the cooking process. It converts the thermal energy from the inexpensive burner into focused infrared radiation, thereby maintaining cooking efficiency and energy distribution uniformity while using low-cost burner components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the need for a complex infrared burner mechanism with a simpler port-type burner combined with an infrared emitter. The emitter performs the function of converting thermal energy to infrared radiation, substituting the mechanical complexity of traditional infrared burners with a simpler thermal conversion approach.
4Loss of energy
If infrared radiant energy is used instead of convection heating, then energy efficiency is improved, but the complexity of achieving uniform distribution increases
Solution Approach 1:
The infrared emitter serves as an efficient intermediary that converts thermal energy directly into infrared radiation, minimizing energy loss. The emitter's design, while requiring some complexity, provides a straightforward geometric solution to achieve uniform radiation distribution, balancing energy efficiency with manageable device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a cost-effective and efficient method for achieving uniform infrared heating, allowing for consistent cooking results with high energy efficiency and reduced material costs, as the cooking apparatus can operate with 100% infrared energy, minimizing convection and conduction effects.
Implementation Method 1
the emitter includes a substantially concave surface for emitting infrared radiant energy so that a substantially uniform distribution of infrared radiant energy is provided at a predetermined plane
Implementation Method 2
The substantially uniform distribution of the infrared radiant energy can be provided by varying the distance from the surface of the emitter to the plane of absorption
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
An emitter (38) may be positioned for absorbing energy from a burner (36), and the emitter may include a substantially concave surface for emitting infrared radiant energy so that a substantially uniform distribution of infrared radiant energy is provided at a predetermined plane. The predetermined plane can be referred to as a plane of absorption because, for example, an article for absorbing at least some of the infrared radiant energy may be positioned at the plane of absorption. For example, food can be cooked at the plane of absorption. A support member (32) for supporting the food to be cooked may be proximate the plane of absorption. The support member for supporting the food may be a cooking grid, rotisserie, or other suitable device for supporting the food. In one particular example, the support member is a cooking grid that may be proximate the plane of absorption, or more specifically the cooking grid may be substantially coplanar with the plane of absorption.